Found
by lnmac13
Summary: Post-ep for Cops and Robbers. What would have happened if Kate had faced the truth after the fiasco at the bank?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This has been rattling around in my brain for a while, because I've always thought that there was so much potential for Castle and Beckett to become more after Cops and Robbers.**

**Let me know what you guys think!**

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Martha and Alexis had retreated upstairs, both exhausted after the day's events. Beckett and Castle remained downstairs, having offered to clean up after dinner. Despite this not being a common occurrence, they had the system down. Castle brought the plates over to the kitchen, then Beckett would rinse them, and place them in the dishwasher, and they were soon finished.

"Do you want a glass of wine?" Castle asked, heading over towards the cabinet that held the wine glasses.

"After today?" Kate asked. "I would love one."

As Castle began pouring them both a glass of wine, Kate drifted over towards the couch, lost in thought. Weeks ago, she had come to the realization that she was ready to face what Castle had said to her in the graveyard the day she was shot. It was only today that she realized she wanted to say it back. But she couldn't tell him without admitting that she had heard him – that she'd been lying to him for the better part of a year, could she?

She was interrupted when a glass of wine appeared in front of her, and Castle settled himself next to her on the couch. "You okay there? You looked like you were thinking pretty hard about something."

_Go for it, Kate. _She thought to herself, setting aside her glass of wine. She took a deep breath, and turned to Castle. "There's something I need to tell you."

He followed her example, setting his glass on the coffee table, and shifting to face her more squarely. "Okay."

Kate was silent for a minute, and Castle wondered briefly if she had decided against telling him. "Castle, I… I heard you. In the cemetery, what you told me when I got shot. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I didn't think that I was ready to face it, and everything was just so overwhelming." She was babbling by this point, looking at the floor, her lap, the ceiling, the door – anywhere but Castle's face, worried what she might find if she looked.

"Kate, look at me," he said quietly, grabbing her arm.

Tentatively, she turned her head, looking over at him, worry evident in her eyes. To her surprise, she found no anger or hurt there. Instead, she found him looking at her calmly, a slight smile on his face, even. The worry in her eyes quickly turned to confusion, followed by panic.

"Kate, I've known for weeks that you heard.

"And you're not angry?" She asked. "Castle, I didn't tell you for months! I don't understand how you can not be angry with me."

He leaned back, though still kept eye contact. "I was angry at first. I was furious. I couldn't figure out why you would lie about it, but after a while I figured that you must have had a reason for not telling me."

"Castle… I'm sorry," Kate murmured, looking away again, and trying to blink back tears.

He was silent for a moment, then said quietly, "I suppose now it's my turn."

She looked over at him quizzically.

"To tell you my secret," he explained simply, before taking a deep breath, and beginning. "After your shooting, I got a blocked call from a man who said his name was Mr. Smith. He told me that before Montgomery died, he sent Mr. Smith an envelope. It contained… it contained all the information they had on your mother's killer." He saw Kate's face pale, saw the shock in her eyes. He continued on, hoping that he hadn't just replaced the damage he had tried so hard to undo after he had opened her mother's case. "Montgomery had a deal. As long as you didn't look into your mother's case, you wouldn't be hurt. After he died… Mr. Smith asked me to do the same. He told me I was the only one you'd actually listen to, and that if I wanted you to live, I had to convince you not to look into it." He paused, and took another deep breath, resolving not to look at Kate. "He never said that I couldn't look into it, though. I've been digging around a little, seeing what I could find, but… it hasn't turned up too much."

Kate stood quickly, bumping into the coffee table and almost knocking over their glasses. She turned, taking deep breaths to try to calm herself, and began to pace back and forth across the living room.

"Kate, I know that I should have told you, but—"

"No," she interrupted, and raised her voice. "Castle, I'm not mad that you didn't tell me. To be perfectly honest, if it had been you instead of me, I would have done exactly the same thing." She turned to face him, tears threatening to fall. "I'm mad because you're looking into it. Are you a complete _idiot_? You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Look, Kate, it's not like I haven't gotten myself into trouble before," he reasoned.

"Castle, these are trained killers. You're a novelist."

"Kate, I was just trying –"

"Damn it, Castle, I don't care what you were trying to do!" she took another deep breath, and opened her eyes, looking straight at Castle. "Where is the murder board?" she asked, as calmly as she could.

"What?"

"Your murder board, Castle. Where is it?"

Castle stood up, fidgeting under the murderous look in here eyes. He led her into his office, flicking the switch to turn on the screen he used to plan out his novels. Escaping out of the plans for his next book, he clicked on the file marked simply, 'Kate.'

Kate held out her hand for the remote, trying to look anywhere but the picture of her own face, which filled up the center of the screen, and the lines that extended outward from it. Quickly, she found the button to delete the file.

"Kate, are you sure…"

She shushed him harshly. A window opened on the screen: _Are you sure you want to delete this file?_ _Yes._

The file closed, and when the home screen appeared, it was no longer an option. Satisfied, Kate set the remote back on the desk, and turned to Castle. "When it is time to open that case again, we will open it together." Her anger fled, and she sighed. "I know that you were just trying to help, but Castle, you could have gotten yourself killed. Did you even think about how I would have felt if you'd been killed?"

"I _know _how you would have felt. I watched you die, Kate. I did this because I didn't want to have to watch it again."

Kate shook her head. "No. You got to see me come home alive. You got to tell me how you felt. Castle, if you keep looking into this without me, you're going to disappear. I wouldn't get to see you come home, and I certainly wouldn't be there to tell you that I love you." By this point, containing the tears had become a lost cause for Kate.

Castle froze, not daring to believe what he had just heard. "Kate…"

"You almost died today. You almost died in that bank, and I didn't get a chance to tell you." She was now gasping for breath, desperately trying to hold back her sobs.

Still in shock, Castle stepped forward, pulling Kate against him, and holding her tightly as she tried to pull herself back together.

"I'm right here," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her head. "I'm not going anywhere now."

Kate pulled back, her eyes red, but her crying under control. "I'm sorry," she muttered, looking down at the floor. "I just completely broke down on you." She made a sound that Castle identified as something halfway between a laugh and a sob.

"Hey… Kate, look at me," he said, tilting her face up to meet her eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for." He placed his hands on either side of her head, his thumbs gently wiping away the tears that lingered there. "I was the idiot who's nearly gotten himself killed. And besides, I'm happier than I've been in years." He laughed, and pulled her into a hug again.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his chest, burrowing her face into his neck and letting herself feel his pulse – reassuring her that he was there.

"Come on," Castle said, untangling himself and taking her hand. He led her out into the living room again, and pulled her down onto the couch next to him. She laid her head on his shoulder, letting him wrap his other arm around her, and closing her eyes.

"Castle?" she asked, after a few minutes of content silence.

"Hmmm?"

"There's umm… There's something that I've been meaning to do all day."

"What?" he asked, turning to look at her.

She smiled, and pressed her lips to his. He froze for a moment, surprised, before responding, moving one hand to cradle the back of her head, and resting the other on the small of her back. They could feel the tension melting away.

It was not a frenzied kiss. It was slow and chaste, gentle, and, in both of their minds, absolutely perfect.

Finally, Kate pulled away, though her arms stayed wrapped around his neck. She grinned, and told him, "Castle… as much as I love Martha, she has terrible timing."

His jaw dropped, but was rapidly replaced by a huge smile. "You _were _going to kiss me! I thought I was just imagining it!"

She bit her lip, and smiled, knowing the effect it would have on him.

His expression fell for a moment as he contemplated something. "I'm dreaming, aren't I? This has got to be a dream. Kate, am I dreaming?"

"I don't know," she replied, her eyes twinkling mysteriously. "Why don't you tell me?" With that, she leaned in for another kiss, this one far less chaste than the previous. She shifted so that she was sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped firmly around his neck.

Reflexively, his arm circled around her, pulling her closer, while his other hand tangled itself in her hair. When she finally pulled away, out of breath, he gasped, "Yeah. I'm definitely dreaming."

"Well," she whispered in his ear, her voice more hoarse than normal, "If that's all you dream about, we won't be having much fun."

He shivered, looking her in the eye as she pulled back, before flipping them around, and trapping her between his arms and the back of the couch. "Trust me, I have a _very _good imagination."

"I look forward to seeing what you can come up with," Kate told him, with a blank face and a practiced even voice. "For now, though, I think I'd like some of that wine you got us earlier." She slipped out from under his arm, and reached for the two glasses, handing him his with a smug smile on her face.

They sat in silence, drinking their wine, with Kate's head resting comfortable against Castle's shoulder. Soon enough, the wine began to make both of them drowsy, and they drifted off to sleep.

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**Thanks for reading!**

**This will be continued shortly :D**

**~ Erin**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you guys so much for the great response to chapter one! I hope you enjoy chapter two!**

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Kate Beckett woke the next morning with a crick in her neck, though she was so warm and comfortable otherwise that she was hardly inclined to move. Opening her eyes, she encountered a moment of shock when she realized that she was not, in fact, in her own bed. Rather, she was staring at the expanse of Castle's living room. She sat up, turning to find that Castle was already awake, looking at her.

He smiled. "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

"What time is it?" she mumbled, still not fully awake.

"It's about eight. Alexis and mother won't be down for a while. Alexis is a teenager, despite her good decision-making skills, and mother… who knows when she'll get up? She sleeps like the dead."

"Good. I can sleep longer," she replied, stretching out on the couch, so that her head rested in Castle's lap. She closed her eyes and sighed, trying to get back to sleep.

Castle began fiddling with her hair, running his fingers through it gently. It felt fantastic, and Kate was content to let him play with her hair all day, if that was what he wanted to do. After a while, his movements changed, and Kate realized that he was braiding it, though beyond that, she couldn't specify. When he was done, she pulled her hairband off her wrist, handing it to him before he could undo all his work.

Castle took it from her, surprised, not having realized that she was still awake. When he was finished tying it off, she stood up, making her way over to a mirror to look at it.

"Castle, how did you do this? I can't even do something like this!"

"I'm a single father. I know my way around a braid," he reminded her, smiling. He wrapped his arms around her as she admired the braid in the mirror.

"Castle, I think we should talk about this at some point today." She met his eyes in the mirror. "I just… I'm serious about this. I don't want to rush into it head first and have it fall apart because we can't communicate."

"I don't either," he stated. "Why don't we go sit down again, and we can talk about this now."

Kate nodded, and followed him back to the couch.

"So, what's got you worried?" He asked, pulling her sideways to lean into his shoulder again.

"I don't know. I just think we should talk about whether or not we're going to go public with this. Stuff like that."

"Kate, I know you're a pretty private person. We can keep this completely off the radar, if you want to." He kissed the top of her head, and then remarked, "If we do that, though, I will need to talk to Paula. She can usually keep the press out of things well, but after a while, something's going to leak."

"I don't think we need to keep it all to ourselves. Obviously we're going to have to tell Alexis and Martha. Lanie and the boys will find out eventually. But we will need to keep it quiet at work, or Gates will take you off the team. Officially, you're not a cop, so it's allowed, but as soon as it becomes a distraction, you're gone."

"Wow. You've really thought about this, haven't you? Have you been looking through the rule book, Kate?" He teased, grinning at her.

"Shut up," she scolded him, slapping him half-heartedly on the arm.

"How about this: We do have to tell Alexis and mother, probably today. But I was thinking that it would be fun to see how long it takes Lanie and the guys to figure it out on their own."

Kate laughed. "Of course that's what you were thinking."

"Is that a yes?"

She thought for a moment. "Fine. It's a yes. Now what are we doing about the press?"

"We could always let them guess, as well," Castle suggested.

"Maybe we keep it under wraps just for the first few months, and then we'll have Paula let it out slowly?"

Castle nodded. "That sounds good to me. I'll call Paula this afternoon."

"And I'll talk to Alexis if you'll talk to Martha. I'd like to tell her by myself, if that's alright with you."

"Are you sure?"

Kate nodded. "Trust me, Castle. I have no misconceptions about how I've treated you in the past. I'd like to see if she'll hear my side of things."

Castle nodded, and pulled her closer. "So. We're decided then?"

Kate nodded, and leaned back.

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today?" Upon receiving her denial, he asked, "So, since there's no one around… does this mean I get a good morning kiss?"

She leaned closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, before whispering in his ear, "Show me where the coffee maker is, and _then _we'll talk."

Castle practically raced to the kitchen, pointed at the state-of-the-art coffee maker on the counter, and proceeded to pull bags of at least five different types of coffee from the cabinet. Kate took her time, inspecting the labels of each and every one carefully.

Impatient, Castle pointed to one, and said, "That's the one I use when I bring you coffee from home."

"I think that I'd like some of that, then, thank you."

Castle stepped slightly closer, putting his arms around her waist and drawing her closer. He leaned in slowly and deliberately, and so was shocked when Kate pulled away, pulling her ringing phone from her back pocket.

"Sorry, Castle. Your good morning kiss is going to have to wait for a few minutes." She grinned at him, and answered her phone. "Hey, Lanie. What's up?"

She missed the response, because Rick was whispering in her other ear, quite indignantly. "You postponed our morning kiss to talk to Lanie? You, Katherine Beckett, are a tease."

"Lanie, my new man has just called me a tease. Would you believe that?" She asked, faking her own indignation.

"Judging from your voice?" Lanie replied. "Yes."

Kate huffed.

"And why haven't I met this new man of yours? Hell, girl, why haven't I _heard _about this new man of yours?"

"I've been busy," Kate defended.

"Obviously, if you're still with him at eight-thirty in the morning."

"Lanie!" Kate protested.

"So when do I get to meet him?"

Kate sighed. "I'm considering letting him come to the precinct on Monday. I'll come down to the morgue to see you."

"You'll _consider_ letting me come on Monday? Why, Detective Beckett, I'm quite frankly hurt!"

"Oh, be quiet," she said, shushing him.

"Kate, did you even hear what I just said?" Lanie was asking when she turned her attention back to her phone.

"Sorry, no. What was that?"

"I _said _that I expect all the details on Monday. Everything."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later though. Coffee's done, and I _did _promise him a good morning kiss before you interrupted. See you on Monday, Lanie."

She clicked off her phone, and turned to face Rick. "Now… Where were we?"

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**I hope you guys liked this chapter!**

**I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to finish and post Chapter 3, so bear with me... **

**Thanks for Reading!**

**~Erin**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it!**

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When Alexis finally came downstairs at eleven, they had made enough chocolate chip pancakes to feed an army, had gone through an entire pot of coffee, and were curled up on the couch watching reruns of _Temptation Lane_. Well, Kate was watching. Rick was more interested in playing with Kate's hair and mocking the bad acting.

"Detective Beckett!" Alexis said when she came down the stairs, clearly surprised at Kate's presence. "You're still here! Or, you're back, or…"

Kate smiled at her. "We accidently fell asleep on the couch last night."

"Would you like some pancakes, Pumpkin?" Castle asked, standing up, and moving towards the kitchen.

"I'd love some," she replied, settling herself on one of the barstools at the kitchen counter.

Castle made her a plate, heating up the extra pancakes in the microwave, before taking the syrup out of the fridge.

"Dad, no. I am not letting you put syrup on my pancakes, or you'll drown them. Give me the bottle."

"But they're _good _with syrup!" He complained. "Why do you have to take the fun out of everything?"

"You can have fun with your own food," she retorted. "This is mine, and I will not let you ruin it."

Castle grumbled discontentedly as he handed her the plate, devoid of syrup.

Alexis grinned, and took the plate from him, before pouring a small puddle of syrup onto her plate.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed after a moment. "These are fantastic!" She looked over at her father. "I mean, your pancakes are normally pretty good, but these… What did you do to them?"

"We actually, umm…"

"We used my mother's recipe," Kate explained. "She used to make me pancakes every Sunday morning if she didn't have a case to work on."

"Well, they're amazing. Thank you."

"So," Castle began. "Did you have any plans for today, Alexis?"

"Not really. I have an AP Chem test on Monday that I really need to study for, but I've got tomorrow, too."

"Actually," began Kate, "I was wondering if you might want to go get lunch with me today. Or," she looked at the time, "An afternoon snack, I guess. I have something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Umm, sure, I guess that would be okay," replied Alexis, clearly a little nonplussed.

"Perfect. I'm going to head back to my place soon, and change. I'll come by again and pick you up. Does three-ish work?"

Alexis nodded, having just taken another bite of her pancake. "That sounds great," she replied, once she had swallowed.

"Okay. I'll see you later then." She turned to Castle. "Do you, by chance, remember where I set my purse?"

He nodded, taking her by the arm and leading her to the doorway, out of Alexis's line of sight, and handed her the purse, which was lying on the small table by the entryway.

"Thank you."

"You know, you could just stay here until three," he suggested, smiling.

"I appreciate the offer, Rick, really, but I should go get out of yesterday's clothes, and shower, and change."

"Well, you know who to call if you need any assistance. I would be more than happy to help with any and all of those tasks."

She hummed in amusement. "I'm sure you would." She smiled, and stepped closer. "I do have to get home, though. I'll see you when I come pick up Alexis, 'kay?"

"Okay," he replied, stepping a bit closer, and placing his hands on her waist.

She smiled, and leaned forward, standing on tip-toes to give him a quick kiss. "Okay. I'll see you in a few hours."

Kate had to sit in her car for a few minutes before driving back to her apartment. How could a kiss as simple as that one make her legs turn to jelly? Normally, in this kind of situation, (not that something like this had ever happened to her before), she would have called Lanie for advice. But this time… she wanted to keep that feeling to herself. And, you know… she didn't want to spoil the surprise.

When she arrived back at the loft at approximately 2:45, she had showered, dressed, and put on makeup, and was now feeling sufficiently nervous about her upcoming talk with Alexis. She hesitated to knock on the door, but forced herself to, knowing that she had to get it over with at some point.

"Hi!" said Alexis, as she opened the door. "Let me just go grab my bag, and we can head out."

She ran off, up the stairs, and Kate was left standing awkwardly in the doorway. Luckily, Castle, who had appeared in the doorway of his office, and beckoned her over, soon rescued her.

"You're going to stay for dinner after you bring Alexis back, right?"

She frowned. "I don't know."

"Say you will," Castle ordered her, petulantly. She almost had to laugh at his childishness.

"It depends, Rick. If this conversation doesn't go as well as I'm hoping it will, staying for dinner might just complicate everything."

"You're really nervous, aren't you?" he asked, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Kate, you have nothing to worry about. It's Alexis." He smiled down at her.

"I know, but, Castle… If I were her, I would definitely hate me."

"It's going to be fine," he said, pulling her into a hug. "And if you want to rethink your decision, I would be happy to go with you."

"No," she told him, shaking her head. "No, this is something I think I'd rather do alone."

He nodded, and stepped back. "Okay."

"Okay, I'm ready!" called Alexis, as she ran down the stairs to meet Kate and her father, hooking her purse over her arm.

"Great. Off we go!"

As they got in the car, Kate asked, "So, what's your AP Chem test on?"

"We're studying Organic Chemistry right now. To be perfectly honest, it's not very hard. And the diagrams are pretty fun to draw, so, really, it's not all that bad. The hardest part is the hybridization. I'm still not sure I really understand that."

"Nice. Organic chemistry was my favorite part of the course… Mostly because it was the only thing that I actually understood."

"You took AP Chem?"

"Well, I ended up with a C in the class… I was never good at the math or sciences."

"Math is my favorite subject, I think, because there's a simple answer for most of the problems." She turned in her seat to look at Kate. "I've always kind of assumed that you were like that, too. Dad's always saying how you tell him that his theories lack evidence. I guess that's what math is like for me. All the evidence just adds up – you don't need to make anything up to get to the answer."

"I suppose I'm like that now," Kate agreed. "But I think that's part of the job requirement. Before I applied to the Academy, I was majoring in Russian Literature. I loved hearing the stories, and figuring out the language."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The summer before my mom died, I spent a semester in Kiev."

"That sounds amazing! So, do you speak fluent Russian?"

Kate smiled. "I do, actually. Well, it's a little rusty now, but a while ago, I had to use it for a case. We got your dad into an underground casino, but he managed to get himself into trouble, and I had to go in as a Russian hooker." She glanced over at Alexis. "Not my finest moment, but, needless to say, your dad was insufferable for _ages_ after that happened."

"Oh, god, I can imagine. He must have been ecstatic – 'cop by day, hooker by night.'" She grinned.

"Oh god," Kate groaned. "I didn't even think about that."

They found a spot fairly quickly, and walked into the small diner, finding a booth at the back. Kate found that after their chatting in the car, she felt slightly less nervous to talk to the girl.

Once they had placed their orders, Alexis asked, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

The panic was back. Kate took a deep breath, and leaned on her elbows on the table.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about your dad, actually."

"Okay…" Alexis replied, somewhat apprehensively.

"Look, umm… Alexis, I know that I haven't been the nicest person in the world when it comes to your dad. I mean, in the beginning, I did everything I could to get him out of the precinct. I thought that he was an absolute jackass."

"Umm, Detective Beckett, where is this going?"

"Sorry, just bear with me for a couple of minutes." She looked up at Alexis, and continued. "I know that I've messed up. A lot. I've hurt him, and I've led him on, and I've lied to him. And if I were him, I'd probably hate me. And if I were you, I'd hate me, too." She took a deep breath, before continuing. "Alexis, after my mother died, I started going to therapy. I was having trouble trusting people, and letting them in. After a year or so, I was feeling better, so I stopped going. Then, after… after I got shot, I started going again. I've spent months going to that office twice a week, and I don't think that in all of those sessions, Dr. Burke and I have talked about anything but your dad."

Alexis looked thoroughly confused by this point, and more than a little upset.

"I've spent months talking to Dr. Burke, trying to figure out how I'd messed up so badly. I lied to your dad, and you, and pretty much everyone else in my life, and I kept wanting to tell the truth, but I worried about what your reactions might be, so I kept putting it off. And then every time I put it off, the prospect of telling everyone seemed that much more frightening."

She took a shaky breath. "That was part of the reason. I should have told him that I remember, in the graveyard, him telling me that he loves me. But what I just told you… that was only half of it. The other reason I didn't tell him was that when I did, I wanted… I wanted to be able to say it back."

At this point, Alexis looked furious.

"Listen, Alexis, I know that I've lied to him, and I've hurt him. But Alexis, whatever mistakes I've made, and I know there have been a lot of them, I do love him. I'm serious about this. Your dad and I have talked, and we've let go of all the secrets, and we're actually communicating." She glanced back up into Alexis's eyes, fearing what she would see there. She was met with cold anger, though, it seemed to be fading, ever so slowly. "I know you're angry with me. Any sane person would be. But I do want you to know that I'm done hiding, and lying to him."

Alexis stared, unmoving, for a moment, taking time to collect her thoughts, before she said, somewhat coldly, "You need to decide whether you're really committed. And I don't mean dating for six months, committed. I mean marriage, kids, the whole deal. And if you're not, you need to get out now, because if you leave again, I'm not getting him back."

Kate took another deep breath, and looked solemnly back up into Alexis's eyes. "Just do me a favor and wait a few years before you start pulling out the onesies."

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**Thanks for reading! I'm not sure when I can post the next chapter, but hopefully it'll be soon. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys!**

**First of all, I'm so sorry this has taken so long to post... This chapter was just not working out for me, but I've at least got something now.**

**Secondly, the spacing on this one is a little weird, so I'm sorry about that.**

**Enjoy!**

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Kate didn't technically need to be at the precinct on Monday morning. She was only on call, and thus, would only need to go in if she got a call about a body drop. Normally, she would go in anyways, sit at her desk, and do some leftover paperwork, but she had no paperwork to do, and she knew that Lanie would want to see her first thing, so at nine o clock in the morning, she had Castle meet her in the lobby to the morgue.

They had discussed things the previous night, and Kate had decided that she couldn't keep it from Lanie. This was, in part, for fear of being killed once Lanie realized that she had been kept out of the loop.

As it was, Lanie would already be disgruntled at the number of half-truths that Kate had told her. When she had called Kate the night before, just after she had gotten off the phone with Rick, Kate had been thoroughly interrogated.

Lanie had asked her, first of all, what his name was. She replied with, "Alexander."

It wasn't a complete lie, she thought. Technically it _was _his middle name.

After that, the questions got harder and harder, and Kate realized that they had made a good decision when they had decided to tell Lanie.

That was what brought them to the lobby of the morgue at nine in the morning.

"Okay," Kate said, glancing over her shoulder towards the elevator. "I'm going to go talk to Lanie."

"And I'll go get coffee. I don't want to face an un-caffeinated Lanie when she finds out we kept this from her."

"That sounds like a good idea," she said, turning towards the elevator.

"Kate!" he protested, grabbing her hand, and pulling her back.

"What?" she asked, turning back to face him.

He grinned, silent for a moment, before leaning in, and pressing his lips to hers, his arms wrapping around her to pull her closer.

For a moment, Kate was startled, but she soon responded in kind, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He pulled back far too soon, in her opinion, and retreated through the front door, on his way to get coffee. "Good morning, Kate," were his parting words.

Kate stared after him for a moment, a broad smile on her face, before turning towards the elevator and Lanie's impending discontent.

Lanie practically ambushed her as she walked through the door. "Okay, girl, you are going to tell me _everything _now." She seemed to notice that Kate was alone now. "Where's your man? You said you were bringing him."

"I sent him to get coffee. He should be here in a few minutes."

"Kate! I wanted to meet him!"

"Lanie, for god's sake, he's not going to run away! He just went to get coffee."

"Fine. But it better be damn good coffee." She looked closer at Kate's face, and her eyes began to twinkle mischievously. "Kate Beckett, you better spill the beans."

"Spill what beans?" Kate asked with feigned innocence.

"You know what beans. Because if I know you, and I definitely know you, that is your 'I-just-got-laid' look."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Lanie narrowed her eyes, but didn't have time to say anything before Kate continued, "This is my 'I-just-got-kissed-senseless-in-the-lobby-of-your-morgue' look."

"That must have been one hell of a kiss."

"It was," she replied, grinning, as she hopped up to sit on the counter.

"So you two haven't… you know, danced the dance yet?"

"Not yet."

"Well, if that grin is any indication it's not going to be long."

Kate didn't get a chance to reply – Lanie was looking towards the door, waving someone in. "Castle? What are you doing here?"

"Ryan and Espo said that Kate would be here," he replied, pushing the door open, three coffees in hand. "I brought you guys coffee."

Kate hopped down off of the counter, and took the coffees from him, setting them where she had been sitting a moment ago.

"Thanks, Castle," she said, sidling up to him nonchalantly, and wrapping her arms around his neck.

For a moment, Lanie thought she was just going to give him a hug. It had happened before, after all, though it normally took a little more than just a cup of coffee. That is, until Kate began to reach up on tiptoes. And Castle's hands began to rest at the nape of her neck and the small of her back. And their lips met.

By this point, Lanie wasn't quite sure whether to keel over in shock, or jump for joy. It seems the two had finally gotten their act together, though she had started to think it would never happen.

"But… what about Alexander?" she asked Kate in a quiet, slightly shell-shocked voice, as the pair began to pull away.

Kate turned to Lanie, and leaned sideways, nestling into Castle's side. "Technically, that wasn't a lie. Lanie, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Richard Alexander Rogers." She looked up at Castle. "I'd have gone with Edgar, but honestly, Rick, nobody names their kid Edgar anymore."

Lanie plopped down in the chair at her desk. "So you two finally got your act together, huh?"

Castle smiled down at Kate, who returned the smile.

"Oh Lord, stop. You two are sickeningly cute. You'd better keep it together at the precinct," she turned her gaze towards Castle, "Or Gates will kick your ass out of there in a heartbeat."

"Speaking of keeping it quiet," Kate interrupted, "We weren't really planning on telling you, but I realized that I couldn't exactly keep it from you."

"We were going to see if you and Ryan and Espo could figure it out by yourselves," Castle continued.

"So would you just… try not to mention anything to them?" Kate finished.

Lanie was silent for a moment, but eventually nodded. "I just want you to know that I'm extremely hurt that you were going to keep this from me. And that you even thought you _could _keep it from me."

Kate nodded, and laughed. "It was a stupid assumption, I'll give you that."

"I'll keep it quiet. But the two of you are going to tell me everything that's happened. Today."

Kate nodded, having expected this. "Come over for dinner and we'll talk."

Lanie accepted, and after a few parting words and a promise not to tell the boys, sent them on their way.

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**TBC: their dinner with Lanie. Hopefully this one won't take quite so long :)**

**~Erin**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! Sorry this has taken so long. I keep having ideas for chapters to come, and then I can't write this until I've written twenty chapters that you won't see for a while yet.**

**Anyways, hopefully the next one will come a little faster! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, or any of the characters.**

* * *

Kate had roped Castle into helping her make dinner for Lanie at her apartment. They hadn't gotten a call that day, thankfully, so at five in the evening, Kate and Rick were squeezing past each other in her tiny kitchen, trying to divide their attention between the lasagna, cheesecake, salad, and the cookies that Castle had absolutely _insisted _on making.

By the time Lanie got there, the Lasagna was just out of the oven, the salad was on the table, and both the cookies and cake were in the oven. Kate had gone to set the table, while Rick found three wineglasses, and was popping open a bottle of wine.

"Should I be worried?" Rick asked, appearing behind her, and setting the glasses on the table while he let the wine get some air. He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I think I'm more scared of Lanie's big sister speech than Ryan and Espo's big brother speeches put together."

She twisted in his grasp, so that she was pressed against him, looking up. "I don't think you have to be too worried. Lanie knows I'd murder her if she hurt you." She reached up, placing a hand on his cheek, before giving him a quick, chaste kiss, and pulling back, smiling.

He was about to lean forward and kiss her again, when a knock sounded at the door. She ducked out of his arms, grinning, and winking back at him.

"Tease!" he called, loud enough that Lanie could hear him outside the apartment.

"And don't I know it," she shot back, opening the door, and standing back to let her best friend inside.

Lanie looked around at the kitchen and table, and turned to look at Kate with a look of feigned confusion on her face. "Kate, what do you plan on eating? I don't see any take-out containers."

"Shut up, Lanie. You know I actually am capable of cooking."

"Well, how would I know? I've never seen you do it," Lanie teased, sitting down at the kitchen counter. She turned her gaze back to the table. "Is that a bottle of wine I see?"

Castle poured all three glasses, and handed one to Lanie first, then one to Kate, who gave him a quick kiss in thanks.

"So," Lanie began, once they had begun eating their dinner. "What exactly changed between you two?"

Kate and Rick looked at each other, unsure of where to start. "Okay," said Kate, taking the initiative. "Well, I went to the loft to have dinner after they'd finished taking Castle's statement, and once Martha and Alexis had gone upstairs, we started talking, and…. I decided that I couldn't keep it a secret anymore. That I remember everything that happened in the graveyard," she clarified, glancing over at Rick. Underneath the table, he reached out, and found her hand, squeezing gently – a small sign that said, 'It's okay.'

"Kate, I didn't realize… you remember the whole thing?"

Kate smiled wryly, realizing that Lanie must feel a little hurt by that. She was, after all, Kate's best friend. "Lanie, I couldn't even bring myself to tell Rick, and he's the one that told me he loved me."

"That's _loves_. Present tense," he whispered in her ear, quietly enough that Lanie couldn't hear.

She shifted slightly closer, and whispered back, "I love you, too." It was only after she had given him another quick kiss on the cheek that she looked up, and realized that Lanie was sitting there watching them with an extremely amused expression on her face.

"What?" Kate asked, glaring at her friend.

"You two are just… cute," she decided.

"Anyways," Rick started, before Lanie could wither away under Kate's death glare, "Once she had told me that she'd heard, I told her that I'd been researching her mom's case. A man named Mr. Smith had gotten in touch with me. He had new information that would keep her safe, so long as she didn't go looking into the case. So I started looking into it instead."

Lanie's eyes were wide as she took the new information in.

"I was furious," Kate interrupted, squeezing Rick's hand in return. "I made him delete his murder board from his computer."

"I didn't see what the problem was. I was just trying to make sure that she wasn't going to get killed."

"I started yelling at him, telling him that I didn't want to see him get killed, especially not without telling him that I love him."

Rick squeezed her hand again, his thumb tracing circles on the back of her hand. Sensing that she either didn't want to continue or couldn't, he stated, "So, we've had a few of the important conversations. How we should tell family and friends, and how we should deal with the press."

"Wow. So you two really aren't going slowly, then."

Rick looked over at Kate, and replied tentatively, "We're going at whatever pace we need to go at."

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Lanie squealed, practically bouncing in her seat as she grinned at Kate. "Javi's so going to murder me for not telling him, but oh… it'll definitely be worth it. How long are you going to keep it from them?"

"However long it takes them to figure it out by themselves," Castle told her, with a smug smile on his face.

"Although knowing him," Kate added, elbowing him, "He'll get impatient and start blatantly hinting at it within a week."

"Hey!" Castle protested. "I'll have you know that it will take much longer than a week before I start getting impatient."

"Oh, really? Remember that time you tried to throw a surprise party for your mother's birthday, and ended up giving it away the within three days?"

"That was different. She's nosy."

"What, and Ryan and Espo aren't nosy?"

He looked at her with a challenge in his eyes. "Why don't we make a bet?"

She nodded, waiting for him to reveal the terms and stakes.

"I'll bet you that you get impatient and start hinting before I do. And if you lose, I get to drive for a month."

"A _month_?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Okay, fine. A week. And if you win… I don't know. What are your terms?"

She thought it over, aware of Lanie's eyes darting back and forth between Castle and herself as they bantered. She glanced over at her friend, amused.

"Lanie? What do you think is an acceptable demand when I win?"

"Personally, I like to go with massages. I get home from a day in the morgue, I _need _to loosen up a little."

"I don't know. Are you any good with massages, Castle?" Kate teased.

"I'll have you know that I am almost as good with massages as I am with hair-braiding."

"Deal," Kate told him immediately, grinning.

"There's one thing I'm wondering about the terms of your bet…" Lanie cut in, a self-satisfied smile on her face. "Does he mean he wants to drive, or he wants to _drive_? Because from what I've heard, Kate Beckett, you can be pretty dominant in bed." She chuckled at the look on Kate's face.

"Oh, my god. Lanie, please stop," Kate pleaded, her face turning red.

Castle leaned in closer to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer. His fingers brushed against the bare skin between her sweater and her jeans as he whispered, "I'd be happy to let you _drive _anytime, Detective."

She turned to face him. "If you act like this when we have dinner with my dad on Friday, you won't get the chance to find out what it's like when I _drive_."

He shifted uncomfortable, placing both hands in his lap, and looking for all the world like a five-year-old who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Lanie leaned back and laughed. "I still can't believe it took you guys this long."

"Well, we all know that's my fault," Kate replied. She looked over at Castle. "Although know I'm wishing it hadn't taken me this long."

He smiled, and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"Oh, you guys are sickeningly cute," Lanie told them, rubbing her temples. "Alright, I am going to leave you two lovebirds alone now. But Kate, you and I are having a girls' day this weekend.

Kate nodded. "Absolutely. I need some new shoes."

"And I need a mani-pedi. Sound good to you?"

"Perfect," Kate replied with a grin. "I'll see you then."

"You two have fun!" Lanie called, as she walked out the door.

Kate and Rick spent the rest of the evening cleaning up from dinner, and then sat on the couch watching TV and exchanging childhood stories. Normally, Kate wasn't a cuddler. With her previous boyfriends, she was never content to just sit still, either feeling trapped, or just needing to get up and do something. But with Castle, she found that it wasn't entirely a conscious decision – they just ended up cuddled together, as though gravity was pulling them together.

"I like this," she murmured, closing her eyes.

She could feel his smile as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. "So do I."

* * *

**Thank you guys so much for reading! **

**Please review, and let me know what you think. Also, if you have any suggestions, feel free to send those. :D **

**I'll try to get the next one up sooner**

**Erin**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, Guys! Not much to say here except that the characters aren't mine, and probably never will be.**

**Enjoy!**

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Making it through the next few days was difficult. They caught a hard case involving the death of a small girl, and everyone on the team was taking it hard. Every night that week, Kate stayed over at Castle's loft, the pair in unspoken agreement that neither should be alone after a case that hit so hard.

They fell into a sort of routine: up at obscenely early hours of the morning, stopping for coffee on the way to the precinct, and working until well past dark, returning only when they were so tired that they were assured sleep without nightmares. Kate herself was exhausted by the time they got home every night – she couldn't imagine how Castle felt. He had stayed up for hours after she fell asleep, tapping away frantically at his keyboard as he fought to keep his eyes from closing.

It was late Friday afternoon by the time they caught their killer. Everyone on the team was exhausted – it seemed that no one had gotten much sleep that week. At three in the afternoon, she retreated to the break room for a moment, pulling out her cell phone.

"Hey, dad," she greeted tiredly.

"Hey, Katie, you okay?"

"Just… It's been a really long week. Do you think that, um… Do you think we could postpone that dinner until tomorrow night?"

"Of course." Her dad fell silent for a moment. "Katie, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine," she responded. "It was just a hard case." She sighed, glancing over at the photos on the murder board.

"Do you need anything? I could come stay for the night, if you don't want to be alone."

"No, dad, I'm fine." She glanced over at the chair beside her desk. Through the break-room window, Castle caught her eyes, giving her a small, sad smile. "I won't be alone."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Katie-bug."

"Okay," Kate replied quietly. "Love you, dad."

"Love you, too."

Kate returned to her desk, collapsing into her chair, and closing her eyes. When she opened them, she found Castle looking over at her.

She was about to say something when Captain Gates stepped out of her office. "Detectives Ryan, Esposito," she called, beckoning them over, and standing beside Kate's desk. When they arrived, she told them all, "I want all four of you to take off until Wednesday. Karpowski's team can take the cases until then. Once you've finished up all the paperwork, I don't want to see you again for the next four days, is that clear?"

The four looked around at each other, before chorusing, "Yes, sir," and, "Thank you, sir."

Kate finished signing the last page of her paperwork, stacking it up in a neat pile, before filing it away. "You ready, Castle?"

He nodded, taking the jacket off the back of her chair and holding it out for her, helping her into it. As she lifted the hair from underneath her collar and grabbed her purse, she said quietly, "I postponed dinner with my dad until tomorrow night. Right now, I just want to go home, eat a decent meal, and sleep. You with me?"

He nodded, looking slightly taken aback. "Back to the loft, then?"

Kate nodded, closing her eyes. "I want to stop by my apartment though," she told him, as the elevator doors closed and they began to descend. "I need something to change into. Especially if I stay until dinner with my dad." Her eyes shot open. "Oh, I completely forgot. I called my dad and asked if he could do dinner tomorrow, instead of tonight. That's okay with you, right?" she asked, looking up at him, worried.

"Kate, it's fine. After a week like this one…"

She nodded, and they headed silently out to the car.

"Kate?" Castle asked, twenty minutes later, sitting on her bed while she threw some more clothes into her gym bag.

She turned towards him, throwing a pair of sweatpants into her bag.

"I was thinking," he said quietly, looking at her closely as if to gauge her mood, searching for a hint as to what her reaction might be. "I don't want you to feel like I'm rushing you, but…" He trailed off, seeing her defenses start to go up. "I just thought that maybe I could clear out a drawer at the loft. In case we have another case like this." He paused for a moment.

She took a moment to process what he had said, and visibly relaxed. "I suppose that's a good idea."

Still, she remained slightly tense. She took in a deep breath, and turned to Castle. "It's only been a week," she remarked, looking slightly concerned.

"Kate," he began, "I've been following you around for three years, and I think we both know that when you look at what really counts, it's been more than a week. Besides," he added, standing up and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her in to lean back against his chest, and catching her eye in the mirror. "In that week, you've spent almost every night at the loft."

Kate was silent, leaning against him as she looked at him in the mirror.

"Kate, honey, I'm not asking you to move in with me yet. It's just more convenient sometimes."

She turned around in his arms, looking up at him. "Then… I guess, while we're here… we could clear out one of my drawers." Her face broke into a tentative smile, which he answered almost immediately.

"Are you sure?" he asked, after leaning in for a quick, chaste kiss. "I don't want you to feel like you have to clear space for me."

She shut him up by pressing her lips to his. "I want to," she murmured quietly into his lips. "Right now, though, I'm exhausted. We'll save it for another day." She slipped out of his embrace, turning back to her dresser. A moment later, she zipped up her bag, turning to Castle.

"You ready?"

He nodded, reaching behind her to take the bag, and wrapping his other arm around her waist.

They stopped at Remy's on the way back to the loft, picking up the first decent meal they could remember having all week. They ate on the couch at the loft, sitting in silence under a mound of blankets, until all the food was gone, and both felt as though they were about to collapse.

Kate took the first shower, staying in just long enough to wash her hair and scrub off the dirt. She headed back into Castle's bedroom in her pajamas, falling onto what had, in the past week, become 'her' side of the bed. Castle emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, his damp, tousled hair falling over his eyes, which were heavy with drowsiness. He slid under the covers, his eyes drifting shut almost immediately. Kate rolled over, laying one arm across his waist, and abandoning her pillow in favor of his chest.

"G'night, Kate," he mumbled, nearly asleep.

They were both asleep before she could respond.

Kate drifted back to consciousness, entirely too comfortable to get out of bed. She opened her eyes, blinking to clear her vision, and stared over at the clock. Surprised, she found that it was half past ten in the morning – the latest she had woken up since her teenage years.

She looked down, watching as Castle's eyes fluttered, and he began to stretch out.

"Okay, now I see what you mean about the staring being creepy," he told her, gazing blearily up at her.

She smiled, and rested her forehead against his. "Mmmm. Deal with it."

He gasped dramatically. "And to think – you get mad at me for staring at you."

She laughed, and pulled back, sitting upright, and pushing back the covers. "_That _is because you stare at me when I'm trying to do paperwork. It's distracting," she stated decisively, pressing her lips gently to his.

He pulled her back down, letting one hand brush gently across her cheek. "Good morning."

"Good morning." She leaned back, jumping out of bed, and sauntering over towards the bathroom.

He had fallen back asleep in the few minutes it took her to come back out, so she wandered out into the kitchen, pulling on his robe as she left.

She had just turned on the coffee maker, and was pulling out the flour and eggs for pancakes when Alexis wandered downstairs, still in her pajamas.

"Oh, umm… Hi, Detective Beckett," Alexis said, surprised. She slowed as she walked towards the kitchen.

"Good morning, Alexis. Umm… do you want some pancakes?" Kate asked, feeling slightly awkward.

"I guess, if you're already making them, I'll have some. If it's not a problem."

"What do you want to drink?" Kate asked, heading towards the cabinet that held the glasses and mugs.

"Umm… milk, I guess," Alexis replied, perching uneasily on one of the white stools at the counter. "So, where's my dad?" she asked, as Kate set a glass of milk in front of her and continued stirring the batter.

"He's still sleeping," Kate replied, glancing over towards his bedroom. She held up the bag of chocolate chips, wordlessly asking Alexis, 'Do you want some?' When Alexis nodded, she began pouring the batter onto the griddle.

Glancing up at Alexis, she found the girl staring at her with a slight hint of confusion in her eyes. She knew Alexis must be wondering why she was still here, and hadn't gone home yet.

"This week… it was a hard case." She glanced up at Alexis, catching her eye over the counter. "There are some cases where it's just… too hard to be alone."

Alexis's interest had been peaked. "Was it just…?" she trailed off, not wanting to pry. "Sorry, I shouldn't…"

"It was, umm… It was a seven-year-old." She lowered her voice. "It hit your dad harder than anyone, I think."

Alexis looked at her, questioning.

Kate was slightly reluctant to answer; she didn't want to overstep her bounds here. "The little girl had red hair, and blue eyes. Well, we all saw the resemblance."

Alexis's face paled. Kate looked away, turning her attention back to the hot griddle, and flipping the pancakes deftly. She plated them up, setting the steaming pancakes in front of Alexis so that the smiley-face of chocolate chips was facing the girl, before turning towards the refrigerator, and searching for the maple syrup.

"Is that why he's been so…"

"Clingy?" Kate suggested, handing her the maple syrup with an apologetic smile.

Alexis nodded, accepting the syrup with a half smile.

Sighing, Kate nodded.

"Has he been sleeping okay?" The younger girl glanced over at Castle's bedroom door.

"I don't know," Kate sighed. "I honestly couldn't tell you how much sleep he's gotten this past week. When we got home from the precinct, I just collapsed, but he'd be up writing for hours." She followed Alexis's gaze, looking over towards the door to the bedroom, and continued, "I sometimes do the same thing, when the nightmares start. I'll stay up reading his books until three in the morning… so that by the time I do fall asleep, I'm too tired to dream. If I had to guess, I'd say that's what he's been trying to do."

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Alexis asked, after swallowing a bite of pancake.

Kate nodded, smiling softly at her. "I think so." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Do you have any plans today?"

Alexis shook her head.

"I was thinking… it might help a lot if we all just relaxed today. Maybe had a movie marathon?"

"That sounds perfect!" Alexis said, grinning. "What movies should we watch?"

"That is entirely up to you," Kate replied, smiling. She walked around the counter. "While you decide, I'm going to go wake up your dad, and make him come eat, and then we'll start."

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**Don't forget to review!**

**The next chapter should be up pretty quickly - I'm halfway through it now, so it won't be long. Thanks!**

**~ Erin**


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